Sunrises and Sunsets
by lizzyroefs
Summary: Will the past effect future happiness?
1. Chapter 1

Ok I am not sure about this story but the idea came to me this morning and I thought I would see what I could come up with. This story takes place 10 years after Kate comes home from Africa.

Chapter One

Kate looked out from her porch, as the sun set over the hill she smiled as her daughter Lily ran around chasing their puppy Harry around the garden that they had planted together. Lily looked so much like him, her eyes sparkled the same way that his had whenever she smiled, it broke her heart to think that she wouldn't grow up with him in her life. Her father had died a little over two years earlier as a result of a stupid car crash. He had been her rock upon her return from Africa, allowing her to vent all of her frustrations on him, and also letting her cry on his shoulder which she did more than once. It had taken her two years before she had realized how blind she had been towards him and allowed herself to take a chance again on love. The day that they had gotten married she had never thought she would ever be that happy again. Little did she know she would feel the same happiness again a little over a year later when she had given birth to their beautiful daughter, he had picked the name Lily after his mother. The lived blissfully in their farm house that they had worked at converting, while she had remained working at Drovers and he at Kilarney both admitting that although they would like to have their own farm they enjoyed working with their friends just as much. They had lived like that in love with each other and in life, and then the dark day that she always tried to forget but couldn't happened. They had been on their way home from Fisher after having a dinner out, something they didn't get very much but when Jodi had volunteered to babysit they couldn't pass her up on the offer. As they drove home in the darkness holding onto one anothers hands, and speaking every now and then but otherwise sitting in companionable silence. They were just coming close to Drovers when a Brombie had ran infront of their car, he had swerved to miss it, but the mud on the road from the rain earlier had caused the car to swerve and as he lost control of the vehicle they crashed into one of the large trees that lined the road. She could remember looking over at him as the car smoked and steamed, screaming as she saw him hunched over the steering wheel, blood coming from his forehead. She had eventually unknownst to her now, managed to get out of her seat and pull his body from the car just as it burst into flames. She remembers sitting with his body in her lap, reassuring him that he would be fine and screaming for help, he opened his eyes as she looked down at him, the same sparkle that was in Lily's eyes were in his. He smiled up at her and mouthed the words I love you, before closing his eyes again. She could almost feel his spirit leaving his body as she sat there crying. The past two years had been the hardest thing she had to live through, going through the motions of his funeral and greaving had been awful. Explaining to her young daughter that her father was not going to return home was the worst. Thankfully she had her friends, whom she now considered family around her to support her. Jodi had been her rock through the whole experience. She was just now starting to feel herself again, she and Lily had gotten into a routine together and whenever his name was mentioned now she smiled instead of immediately bursting into tears. She broke her train of thought as her daughter climbed the stairs and into her lap,

"Mummy what are you thinking about?" She asked as she stared up at her mother with a smile,

"Oh I am just thinking, did you have fun chasing Harry?" Kate replied as she placed a kiss on top of her daughters brunette curls.

"Well he can run faster than me, but I did have fun, are you thinking about Daddy?" Lily said as she snuggled into Kate's arms. "Because that is ok you know, because I think of him lots too."

"I was, thats good that you think of him lots, I am sure he misses you tonnes." Kate smiled as Lily and she looked out at the sunset,

"I know that he does, but not as much as he misses you Mummy." Lily whispered as she looked up at her with those eyes, the eyes that she would know anywheres, after all Riley's eyes sparkled like that everytime he looked at her.

Chapter Two

The next morning as Kate and Lily drove into the yard at Drovers she smiled as Lily squealed in delight as she saw her cousins Sarah and Emma playing by the barn. As they got out of their ute Lily ran over to join them,

"Where is everyone?" Kate called as she walked behind Lily,

"They are still in drinking their coffee, silly parents." Sarah replied as she took Lily's hand and they ran towards their play area. Kate smiled as she watched the three girls run off and she started walking up towards the house. Alot had changed over the years, Alex and Stevie had moved into Kilarney and had become the proud parents of three girls, Hannah who was 8 and the spitting image of Stevie and also had the attitude to match, Sarah who was 6 was quieter than her sister, but still knew how to get into mischif, the baby was Emma who had just turned 4 and was the apple of Alex's eye. They always teased him that he had no sons, but he always replied that he had always wanted to live with a bunch of girls anyways. Tess and Nick had returned from Argentina the year that she and Riley had gotten married, they had moved into the main house at Drovers, they brought with them their daughter Clare who was now 11 and had the quietness of her father, and their son Henry who was 8 and had the spirit of his mother. Jodi and Matt had come home the year that Lily was born, it had finally been deemed safe enough for them to come out of hiding, they along with Tess and Nick had renovated the house at Drovers to make two seperate living quarters and had moved in, they were chasing around 3 year old Laura, who had Matt's brown hair and Jodi's curls, along with Jodi's temper quite constantly keeping her parents on their toes. Meg and Terry had returned home a few years ago, finally building their own home. Terry had returned to working at Kilarney, and Meg had taken on the position of full-time granny, taking care of the younger children and making sure the older ones got to school.

Kate laughed as she could hear the others discussing and arguing some utter important matter as she walked up the steps towards the kitchen that Tess and Jodi shared. The others immediately stopped talking as soon as she entered, looking away from her and trying not to make eye contact.

"What?? Do I have the plague or something, I mean if you want I can go out and you can continue talking about me." She said with a grin and looked around at the others, "Come on it can't be anything that big, now spill."

"Oh its nothing really, we were just talking about a letter that I got in the mail this morning." Tess said as she took a sip of coffee and Nick handed Kate a cup of coffee.

"Oh really?? What is there big news or something??" Kate replied as she sat down and looked over at Jodi who was sitting with Laura in her lap, "Come on Jodes spill it!!"

"Oh for heaven sakes you are all a bunch of wimps!" Stevie moaned as she looked over at Kate, "Tess has had a letter from Dave. He is coming here to visit." The others all turned finally and looked at her for her reaction,

"Well that is to be expected, I mean he probably wants to come see us all, after all it has been a while." Kate replied,

"He said that he wants to come home, he is tired of travelling, and I think that since losing his wife he has found it hard." Tess said, "I mean it has been almost 4 years since she died but I imagine that he finds it hard being away from home."

"I can imagine he does, I know I would." Kate said as she took a sip of coffee, "Oh well it will be good to see him anyways."

"Yes, now come on slow pokes we need to get to work." Stevie cried as she stood up, "Those fences aren't going to fix themselves."

Chapter 3

The next few weeks passed by in a blur for Kate, with the start of the school year she had seen her little girl go off on her own for the first time, thankfully Sarah had been starting too, so she had Stevie's shoulder to lean on as she watched her baby climb those steps towards her independence.

"Thank god you came with me, I don't think I could have done that alone. I always thought in the beginning that Riley and I would stand together to watch her off to school." Kate said as they drove back towards Drovers. Stevie reached over and squeezed her hand,

"I can only imagine how tough this must be on you, but it is a good thing in a way, a start to a new chapter almost. I mean time flies by Kate and you have to take time to live in the here and now, or else it will fly by you. Look at Rose, I missed the first 15 years, and now she is getting married herself." Stevie said with a small smile.

"Your right ofcourse, and seeing her walk up those stairs today has made me realize it more than ever. It is time to start moving on, Riley wouldn't have wanted me to sit around and wallow. In fact I am pretty sure he would have come and kicked me in the butt by now." Kate said with a laugh,

"Don't laugh I can picture him doing it." Stevie replied,

"Me too, me too." Kate sighed.

Kate sat down in her rocking chair on her verenda, she had finally gotten Lily to sleep. She had been so wound today, it had been prince and princess day at school. Plus with the arrival of a new pony at Drover's she had been like she had eaten 10 pounds of candy. She took a sip of the tea that Moira had given her, some herbal thinga magiggy supposedly to calm her nerves. The sun was setting and the air was so calm, it was evenings like this she loved, the quiet that surrounded the area was what attracted her and Riley to it. As she took another sip she could hear the rumblings of a car coming up the drive, as the headlights beamed onto the house she could see a black suv park in front of the house. A tall figure got out the door and she immediately knew who it was, she would know him anywheres.

It had taken him a while to get up the nerve to come see her, it had been over ten years since he had been in Gungellan last, and he knew from his correspondence with Alex, Pat and Tess that a lot had changed. Not that a lot hadn't changed with him, after finishing in Kenya he had been offered a teaching job in London. After hearing that Kate had gotten married he had nothing to draw him back here, so he accepted the job and headed out. He had been in London a year when he first met Jane, he had to admit that he was first attracted to her by the sheer resemblence she held to Kate. But as they continued to date he felt for the first time in a long time his heart start to bond with someone new, after a year they were married in a small chapel in Ireland. They spent two and a half blissful years together, before she had gotten the news. He could remember that day like it was yesterday, he came home from work and found her sitting at the kitchen table white as a ghost. As she told him the news all he can remember hearing were the words cancer, terminal and six months. They sat there, he with his head in her lap as she started to sob. He had decided then and there to make the most of the next six months, they travelled to Paris and Italy, spending romantic evenings walking hand and hand through the cobblestone streets, all the while she was getting sicker and sicker and trying to make it seem like she wasn't. Seeing her like this and being unable to do anything had broken him. She died on a Wednesday, they had returned the previous Sunday from their trip. She was buried on a friday, Alex and Pat had flown in for the funeral. By the following Wednesday he was alone again. That had been over four years ago, he had thrown himself into his work coming home every evening to an empty house. He had made some friends but no matter what he still felt empty. Two years ago when he got the news that Riley had died, he had had the urge to rush home and comfort her. To pull her into his arms and tell her that everything was going to be ok, be he knew from experience that she didn't need that. So instead he sent her a sympathy card which more that likely just heaped up on a table somewheres. Then a month ago he woke up one morning and felt tired, tired of living along in a country he felt no urge to stay in, and tired of being away from the only place he felt home. He had written to Tess about coming home, and got in touch with the local vet to see about any work. So with belongings in hand he got on the plane at Heathrow and didn't look back. Now standing in her door yard and seeing her silhouette in the light of the window behind her, he let out a sigh, he knew now he was home.


	2. Chapter 2

Kate stood up and walked down the steps meeting him in the middle of the garden, he was exactly how she remembered him, a little older around the eyes looking as if he had been through alot which she knew he had. She looked up at him and smiled,

"Hello stranger." She whispered as he looked down at her. She noticed that he looked almost the same since the last time she had seen him, although he looked tired and little lines had formed around his eyes.

"Hello yourself." He replied as he looked down at her, noticing that she had matured quite a bit since he had last seen her, noting that 10 years had definately improved her. They stood together in an awkward silence, each waiting for the other to speak.

"So its been a while." Kate said as she looked back at him, looking away as she could feel his eyes on her,

"It definately has, too long really." Dave replied with a sigh, "But it felt like it was time to come home. I missed everyone and realized that there is nothing in England for me anymore. Besides I missed our little chats." Kate looked up at him with a small smile spreading across her face, "I know alot has changed in 10 years but if anything I want our friendship back. I missed you Katiepie."

"A lot has changed but have no worries our friendship will never go away, welcome home by the way." She replied as she reached up and gave him a hug.

Sometime later they sat looking out into the darkness on Kate's verenda, reminiscing about old times and Kate caught him up on all the gossip he had missed out on. The whole time they spoke they avoided the topic of their relationship when they were in Africa, it was almost like they had both agreed to move on from the topic.

"You would have really liked her, she was so full of life and energy, in fact she reminded me alot of you." Dave said as he told her of his life with Jane, "That was the hardest thing I have ever been through, harder than losing Leann, because this time I was there watching her die in front of my eyes."

"I am sure I would have, and I think that you are probably the one person I can now relate to with losing Riley. It felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest, if I didn't have Lily I think I would have completely lost it. She is what keeps me together, seeing her smiling face every morning makes my day." Kate replied as she looked over at him, "You'll like her she is so funny and very honest so be pre-warned."

"Sounds like she got some of your traits then." Dave laughed as he pictured a mini kate,

"She does definately, but she has alot more of Riley in her, she is very adventuresome. When she is playing with her cousins you would swear she was a little boy. To think now you will be Uncle Dave, be prepared for the onslaught." She giggled and he smiled as he remembered how much her giggle made him smile.

"Don't worry I was told via Tess that they were very excited to have an Uncle coming from the wild blue yonder, so I come bearing lots of candy. It will be nice to get back to the day to day life of a vet though, hopefully being away for 10 years people won't have forgotten me." Dave said as he looked out into the darkness, the stars and moon lighting up the sky.

"I wouldn't worry about that, I mean you are pretty unforgettable." Kate blushed as soon as she realized what she said, "You know what I mean, people around here have long memories."

"Don't worry I knew what you meant. I think I had better get going though, Alex was expecting me hours ago." Dave replied as he stood up, "It has been really nice seeing you."

"You too, I am sure that I will see you lots, Tess is planning this whole welcome home party for you Saturday night. Which I don't think you are supposed to know about, crap." Kate said, "As you can see I still can't keep a secret."

"Don't worry I won't tell a soul." Dave said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek, "Good night Katiepie and sweet dreams." He walked down the steps and waved as he walked to his car. Kate placed her hand on her cheek, this was so not a good thing.

As Dave drove into the yard at Kilarney and turned off his engine, the light on the porch turned on and he could see three little figures running out the front door towards his car. He smiled as he opened the door and got out and was immediately over taken by three girls who were all the spitting image of Alex and Stevie.

"Oy give the man room, come on girls." Came a familiar voice coming towards them, Dave looked up and grinned when he saw Alex and Stevie walking towards him. "Its about bloody time Brewer it is way past their bedtime you know." Alex joked as he grabbed Dave's hand and pulled him into a hug. Dave walked over and kissed Stevie's cheek and hugged her,

"Sorry I had a stop to make before I showed up here, I thought that maybe you would understand." Dave replied with a small smile, and Stevie looked at him,

"Let me guess where that was, and if it is where I think it was, I am glad you did, that stop needs some cheering up." She said as they walked towards the house, Alex and Dave carrying his bags.

"Well then you should be very happy because that is where I went." Dave replied as they walked into the house and into the living room. He looked around the room, it had definately changed since he had been here last. It felt more homelike then ever, with pictures of Alex and Stevie and their girls all over the place. "Thanks for putting me up for a bit by the way. I plan on finding my own place as soon as I can."

"No worries Brewer, we have lots of room. Besides that is what I forgot to tell you, the cottage is empty again, we had an issue with the last tenent so its yours if you want it." Alex replied as they sat down on the couch, Dave was suddenly covered with little girls.

"Ok girls give your Uncle Dave room, and it is time for you to all go to bed." Stevie said standing up, "Now say good night and you will all see him in the morning." Dave laughed as they all moaned and stood up and gave him a kiss.

"Good night Uncle Dave." They sighed as they trudged up to bed, followed by Stevie on their heels.

"Its so weird to see you guys like this a good weird though, its good to see you so happy mate." Dave said as he looked over at Alex,

"I have never been this happy Brewer, everytime I see my girls faces or I wake up next to Stevie I become so grateful for everything." Alex replied, "So tell me how did you find Kate? The girls have been trying to get her out and about, but she just seems so sad. They were so happy to hear that you were coming home, they know that your friendship meant tonnes to her and are hoping that you can bring her out of her funk. Mind you you didn't hear that from me."

"It was nice seeing her tonight, she has changed though I can see it in her eyes. But just talking with her it was like old times, it was funny though because she and I spoke of losing our partners, and she said that it is nice because now she has someone to relate too." Dave replied as Stevie walked back into the living room and sat next to Alex.

"So what did I miss?" She asked as she looked back and forth between both men.

"Oh Dave was just telling me about seeing Kate." Alex said as he placed his arm around her,

"Thats great, I am so happy that you are home it is exactly what she needs. She has been so sad for two years, these past weeks knowing that you were coming home she seemed almost happy, you are exactly what the doctor ordered." Stevie grinned as Alex rolled his eyes,

"Well then it is a good thing I am a doctor, and I have to admit the idea of seeing her again was one of the main reasons I wanted to return home. Its time to start living again." Dave replied with a smile.

Kate moaned as her alarm clock went off the next morning, she hadn't slept well. Her mind had raced all night with images and thoughts of Dave, Riley, Lily, how seeing Dave again made her feel and how it felt like she was cheating somehow on Riley. She knew that Riley would want her to move on, she didn't know how happy he would be if it was with Dave. Riley had been the one she had poured her heart out to when she came home from Africa, she knew that he had liked Dave but the whole situation made her head spin. Plus there was Lily, her motherly instincts were to immediately worry about her, and how if she ever did start seeing someone how it would fit into her daughters life. She looked over at the window and could see the sun coming up, she had always loved this time of day, it was peaceful the world wasn't awake yet and it was quiet. She got up and looked out her window, she looked over at the tree that they had planted the day that they had moved into their house. It had grown tall over the years and now was almost full grown. She could see a white flutter in the leaves, then a small white bird flew out of the tree and towards the sun. She had seen this type of bird before, the day Riley had died one had been flying overhead. She smiled to herself as she felt a warmth over come her, she wasn't the type of person who believed in signs, but this felt like one. Riley would be happy for her no matter what, a tear rolled down her face as Lily ran into the room.

As she poured cereal into a bowl for Lily she nodded her head, listening as her daughter rambled on about how Clare was so cool for riding the new horse at Drovers and how someday she was going to be like her.

"Mummy, who was the man that came here last night?" Lily asked, finally gaining Kate's attention.

"That was Mummy's old friend, your Uncle Dave, he just came home from England. You were supposed to be sleeping by the way young lady." Kate replied as she sat down opposite her daughter,

"Don't worry I did go right back to sleep, I just saw the lights from the car and peeked out the window. Is he nice??"

"Very nice, and he can't wait to meet you!" Kate laughed as her daughter went through her usual ritual of going through the alphabets and picking out the L's first. "You will probably meet him sometime today, he is moving home here."

"Thats cool, I can't wait to meet another Uncle. They are the best." Lily replied as she ate the rest of her cereal.

Dave walked down the steps at Kilarney and walked into the kitchen, he saw a note saying that Stevie and the girls had left for the day to Drovers and school and Alex was out in the yards. He walked over and poured a cup of coffee, he hadn't thought he was as tired as he was. He also hadn't slept this good in a long time, he knew that seeing her would settle him, she always had had that effect on him. He looked up as Alex walked into the kitchen,

"Morning mate, sleep well?" Alex asked as he grabbed a cup of coffee too,

"Definately, I haven't slept that well in ages, its nice to be home." Dave replied as he took a sip of coffee,

"Its nice to have you home mate, now I am heading over to Drovers for lunch if you wanna come." Alex said as he sat his cup down, "The older kids are all at school so it won't be too chaotic. Mind you Jodi is there..."

"Sounds good, lets go." Dave laughed as they walked out the back door. As they drove there Alex filled him in more on what had happened in his absence, he had gotten most of the stories with letters and some phonecalls while he was away but not everything.

"Its nice to have a school finally in Gungellen, Nick, Clare and I all had to go away. It is great to have the kids home at night, plus it is great for the girls having Meg here, she laughs saying she never thought she would have this many grandkids. Its too bad that Pat couldn't stick around, but it was good for him to go with Taylor and help her Mum, do you hear from him much?" Alex asked as he turned into the road for Drovers.

"Usually once a week I get an email or a call, I am glad that he did finally settle down. Taylor is good for him, plus now they have a baby on the way which just seems so odd yet so right." Dave replied with a grin as he looked out the window smiling as he saw that not much had changed on Drovers, there were some more bikes and toys laying about but not much else. As Alex parked the ute and they got out they walked towards the house and could hear laughter and talking coming from the verenda. As they walked up the steps Dave could here the sound of small feet running towards them, he recognized Alex and Stevie's youngest daughter Emma running towards them. Alex leaned down to scoop her up but she ran past him and jumped into Dave's arms.

"Uncle Dave it is so good to see you, Mummy said not to wake you this morning and I have been waiting so much to see you." She said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Well I have been waiting to see you too." Dave chuckled as they walked towards the back where everyone was sitting. He grinned as he saw all of his old friends, it was as if nothing had changed, they all looked a bit older but he supposed he did too. Tess and Jodi gave him a hug as he placed Emma into her father's arms, Nick and Matt shook hands with him and he sat down in a chair. As everyone talked over each other excitedly they all became quiet as he turned around and saw Kate standing in the doorway a huge smile on her face.

Kate walked towards him her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest, "Hello stranger, nice to see you again." She said with a wink,

"You too, long time no see!" Dave replied with a grin looking at the confused expressions on the others faces he laughed, "For heaven sakes I went and saw Kate last night, the way news travels here you would have thought you would have already known." As a growing look on understanding came over their faces Tess's face lit up,

"Well that was nice, did you have a lovely chat then?" She asked as Kate sat down across from Dave, "Catch up and all that." Jodi let out a groan as she rolled her eyes at her sister, "What?" Tess asked looking over at her.

"Oh nothing, Kate will you help me with the tea in the kitchen." She said as she stood up and walked towards the kitchen, leaving Matt shaking his head as he knew that Kate was about to get it. As they entered the kitchen Jodi closed the door behind them and turned towards Kate,

"You saw him last night!! And didn't tell me anything about it?? Come on spill." Jodi cried as she sat down in a chair and Kate sat beside her,

"Well it was nice, he drove up and got out and honestly Jodes it was like the wind had been taken from me. I mean it was a little awkward at first, but after a few minutes it was like nothing had changed, we were after all friends first. It was nice talking with him, we talked about his wife, and Riley. It was weird of all people he is the person I can now relate to when it comes to losing Riley. It was so nice being with him again, and promise not to tell I got the butterflies again." Kate replied with a sigh,

"Oh Squirt that sounds so good, but be prepared from the way he is looking at you I would say that he still has feelings for you." Jodi said as she placed her hand over her friends, "Not that it is a bad thing, because this time he isn't about to take off to Africa, but you need to make sure that you are well over Riley and able to move on, because neither one of you needs to be hurt again."

"I know, I know, and honestly Jodes I think that I am. I know that Riley wouldn't have wanted me to sit around and wallow in grief forever. But do you think he would be upset if it was with Dave." Kate asked as she looked over at Jodi.

"I think that as long as you are happy Riley would want you to be with whoever." Jodi replied, "What about Lily did he meet her yet?"

"No not yet, and that is another thing, is she ready if I do get involved with someone, I mean I don't want her to think he is a replacement for her father." Kate said as she brushed her hand through her hair.

"I think that Lily will be fine, she is a strong girl Kate, I mean she is your daughter after all. She also wants to see you happy, she told me a few months back when we were having that princess party that she wants you to find a prince again." Jodi replied as she stood up, "Now I think that we had better take the tea out."

"Thanks Jodes, let me grab the biscuits." Kate said as she hugged her friend.

Dave looked around at all of his friends, it was as if nothing had changed. Tess was still as level headed as ever, Nick still rolled his eyes at Alex, Stevie and Alex still fought like cats and dogs, Jodi and Matt were obviously in love, with Matt looking as if he would follow her off the edge of the earth. Then there was Kate, he had to admit that the 10 years looked good on her his Kate had grown into a full blown woman, he had always found her immensely attractive but now she was off the charts in his books. He noticed as Kate looked at her watch,

"Jease look at the time, I told Meg that I would pick the kids up today. I better get going." She said as she stood up,

"Here let me go with you." He heard himself saying as he stood up, the others immediately stopped talking, "I mean what are uncles for after all."

"That sounds great, come on lets go then, we'll take the van." Kate replied with a smile as they walked towards the steps and she turned around, "We'll be back in a bit."

"Take all the time you need." Stevie called from the verenda as they watched Kate lead him towards the shed where the van was. As they drove towards Gungellen he looked over at her concentrating on driving, but once he caught her eye and she immediately looked away.

"So how are you adjusting to the heat?? Must be a lot different than London." Kate said trying to obviously make small talk,

"Oh its not that bad, you know we did get some hot weather in the UK, I mean atleast two days a year." Dave joked as he saw her giggle, "Thanks for letting me come with you by the way."

"No problem, maybe the others will take the hint and head back to work now." Kate replied with a small smile, as Dave laughed.

"I was thinking that maybe we could go get some icecream after we picked the kids up." Dave said as he looked over at her, "If thats ok with you. I mean I know that it is probably almost supper time and all, but it is Friday." Kate stopped the van in front of the school and smiled over at him, making his heart skip a beat in the process.

"That would be lovely, thanks." She replied as they looked at each other, for what seemed like hours they sat looking into each others eyes until the door of the van was pulled open and a tall girl got in.

"Hey Aunt Kate, who's this, omg is this Uncle Dave??" She cried as she leaned in between Kate and Dave and gave him a hug, "Hey there I am Clare."

"Nice to meet you Clare." He replied as he noticed the striking resemblence to Tess she held in her face, as she sat back down a young girl and boy got in.

"Hannah, Henry this is your Uncle Dave." Kate said as they looked at him and smiled.

"How do you do?" Asked Henry as he held out his hand for Dave to shake.

"I have to go in and get Sarah and Lily I will be right back." Kate said as she opened the van door and got out. Dave looked back at the children of his friends, Henry was the spitting image of Nick, while Hannah had Stevie's curly red hair.

"So you really lived in Africa??" Hannah exclaimed as she looked at him, "That would be so cool."  
"It was definately cool." Dave replied with a grin as the van door opened and a young girl with Stevie's red hair too climbed in,

"Hello, I'm Sarah." She said as she held out her hand, "I'm very pleased to meet you." Dave tried to hide his grin as he shook hands with the very serious girl standing in front of him.

"Hello Sarah, it is a pleasure to meet you." He replied she sat down next to her sister, and another girl got in. He would have known immediately that she was Kate's daughter. She was the spitting image of her, she had her tanned complexion, brown hair and sparkling eyes. "You must be Lily." He said as she sat down in the seat behind him.

"Yea!! You are Uncle Dave, I saw your car last night but didn't want to get in trouble so I went back to bed. It is super to finally meet you." She exclaimed as she buckled her seat belt and Kate climbed back into the driver's seat, she was definately Kate's daughter.

Kate sat back on the bench and licked her icecream, she smiled as she looked at the picture directly across from her, Dave had insisted that she order first, and now he was with the five kids trying to get their orders straight as he held Lily in his arms and the others ran all over the place. She liked that picture, he looked happy and relaxed, the kids had taken to him like he a duck to water. She knew they would, Dave had that effect on people. It warmed her heart to see Lily laughing at his jokes as they had finally got the orders straight and were now walking over towards her. As they all sat down, Dave sat next to her and Lily continued to sit in his lap.

"Mummy can Uncle Dave come to pizza night?" Lily asked as she looked over at her Mother with a mischevious grin on her face.

"What's pizza night?" Dave asked as he took a lick of icecream,

"Mummy and I have pizza and watch a movie every Friday night, you should come over its lots of fun." Lily exclaimed with excitment, "Tonight we are going to watch 'Beauty and the Beast', Auntie Tess loaned it to me."

"I'm sure that Uncle Dave is plenty busy and isn't interested in having pizza and watching a girly movie." Kate replied as she looked over at Dave and giggled as he had icecream on his chin, not even thinking she leaned over and lightly wiped it off. She could feel his body stiffen as she did and could almost feel a spark.

"Au contraire my fair lady, I would enjoy nothing more than having pizza and watching a girly movie." He replied as he looked into her eyes,

"Yea!!" exclaimed Lily as she jumped off his lap and ran over to her where her cousins were playing on the swings.

"She really likes you, I haven't seen her this excited in a long time." Kate said as they looked over as Lily did a cart wheel on the grass,

"I really like her, she reminds me exactly of you." Dave replied, "Are you sure you don't mind me coming for supper?"

"No it will be nice, but come over at like 6, Lily always thinks she is getting to stay up but always falls asleep by 8:30." Kate said with a smile.

After dropping the kids off at Drovers and finishing up the chores, Kate and Lily drove home, all the while Kate laughed as Lily told her the silly stories that Dave had been telling the kids of his times in Africa and London. As they got home, Kate put the pizza in the oven and jumped in the shower while Lily played with her dolls and Harry, trying to get the squirming puppy into her stroller. As Kate came out of the steam of the bathroom she ran across the hall into her bedroom, as she opened the closet she sighed. She felt like a young girl again not knowing what to wear, she didn't want to appear too dressy then Lily would think something was fishy. She pulled on her favorite jeans and the new red top that Jodi had given her for Christmas. She sprayed on a whisp of perfume and left the room. She walked into the kitchen and could hear voices coming from outside, she looked out the window and smiled as she saw Lily introducing Dave to Harry. She took the pizza out of the oven and was cutting it into pieces as they came in the house.

"Mummy, Uncle Dave is here!!" Lily cried as she came running into the kitchen, "And he brought us stuff!!" Kate turned and saw her daughter and Dave standing in the doorway. He was holding a bottle of pop and a bouquet of flowers.

"I was gonna bring wine, but didn't think that Lily would really like it." He said with a small smile as he handed her the flowers, "Not a gerber in sight so don't worry." He whispered as she took them. She looked up at him and smiled, he had remembered.

"Mummy come on I'm hungry!" Lily moaned,

"How about you and Uncle Dave go in and start the movie and I will bring the pizza in." Kate asked as she saw a smile come across her daughters face.

"OK, come on Uncle Dave I know how to use the DVD player." Lily said as she took Dave's hand and pulled him towards the living room, Kate smiled as she heard Dave say it was a good thing because he didn't. She took the flowers and put them in a vase with water, they were beautiful wild flowers her favorite kind. She laughed as she remembered how Riley had always picked her flowers every week. It had been a long time since she had been given flowers. She leaned over and smelled them again, then noticed a presence in the doorway, she looked over and smiled.

"Thanks again they are beautiful." She said as he walked into the kitchen and stood beside her.

"Think nothing of it, they reminded me of you, simple and beautiful." Dave whispered as they stood inches apart and Kate blushed, looking up at him, she reached up and pushed the piece of hair that always fell in his forehead out of the way. Dave leaned down and lightly kissed her on the lips, Kate let out a sigh as she remembered how good his lips had always felt.

"That was nice." Kate sighed as they smiled at each other,

"Yes but I think if we don't want a hungry six year old chasing us we had better go in with supper." Dave replied with a grin, "Not that a mini you chasing me around wouldn't be nice, I mean I would prefer the full size you but really..." Kate moaned as she hit his arm,

"Come on you grab the glasses and a plate and lets watch the movie."

As the closing credits started to roll Dave stretched and looked down at Lily asleep curled up next to him, he smiled as he looked down at the peaceful expression on her face. He looked down at the other end of the sofa and saw that Kate was starting to doze herself. She was doing the light snoring thing that he had always found so cute. He slowly moved to turn the tv off and picked the still sleeping Lily up in his arms and carried her upstairs to her bedroom. As he laid her down under the covers she opened her eyes and smiled at him,

"Good night my little Lily." He whispered as he placed a kiss of her forehead,

"Good night Uncle Dave, and thank you." She replied as she snuggled next to her doll,

"Thank you for what?" Dave asked as he looked down at the small girl in the bed.

"For making my Mummy happy again, she has been so sad since my Daddy went to heaven. You are what Aunt Jodi would call the Prince Charming aren't you??" Lily asked as she looked up expectently at Dave.

"We'll see Lily, and you are welcome, making your Mummy happy makes me happy." Dave replied as he could see the girl drifting off to sleep again. As he closed the door behind him, he realized the Kate had obviously not waken up, he walked towards the living room and smiled as he saw her still asleep on the sofa. He walked over and leaned down and picked her up, she stirred and leaned her head on his shoulder. She still used the same lavender shampoo he could tell as he carried her up the stairs into her bedroom. As he laid her down on the bed, and stood up, she woke up and looked at him grabbing his arm.

"Please don't leave me, just lay here with me." She asked in a whisper of a voice as she looked at him in the eyes, Dave laid down on the bed and pulled her into his arms. They laid there him holding her in his arms as they both slowly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
